Shit, shit, shit. Drew must have either come back or had Steve check on me and they didn’t find me here. I pull out my phone and check, twenty-two missed calls! I had the volume up on my iPod so I never heard the phone ring. So much for having a rational, adult conversation about London.
Steeling myself for the worst, I lower my hood and take off my sunglasses as I approach. Sal glances up then does an almost comical double take, meeting my eyes with his. His odd movements cause both officers’ heads to snap up and look at me. The female officer greets me as the male speaks into his radio. Sal has already gone into the suite, probably to tell Drew or Steve.
The officer is listening to me explain that I only went jogging. She says something back to me but I don’t hear her, I’m too busy praying that Steve is the one who reported me missing and not Drew. I hear a loud commotion on the other side of the door and I know that Steve isn’t the one coming out to get me.
The door flies open and Drew steps into the hallway, his face full of panic, T-shirt and jeans wrinkled, feet bare, and his hair standing at a hundred different angles off of his scalp. He’s been running his hands through it from the stress. Stress I caused, because I went for a fucking run.
He looks me up and down, making sure there’s nothing wrong with me. Satisfied, his lips flatten into a tense line and his hands clench and unclench in front of him. I can’t move or speak, pinned into place by his cold stare. Drew spins on his heel and storms into the suite. I hear him ask everyone to leave, making sure to thank the officers for coming.
Steve and Sal ignore me as they pass me in the hall, their eyes fixed on a point somewhere past where I stand. Evan gives me a sympathetic look as he walks by. I’m scared to go into the hotel room.
“Sydney? Are you coming inside?” Drew asks from somewhere in the suite.
I force my legs to carry me over the threshold and into the living area where Drew is sitting. I stand there, unsure what to do or say so I just stare at the hole that he punched into the wall after the dress incident.
“Sit, please,” He points to the seat across from him.
I slide into the leather chair. “I only went running, Drew.”
He taps his finger on his lower lip and I can see his jaw tightening under the shadows of his face. Closing his eyes, he breathes deeply and continues running his finger across his mouth, but he says nothing.
“I’m sorry that I worried you.” I sound pathetic, even to my own ears.
“Worried? Worried isn’t the word I would use.” Drew looks over at me with hard eyes. “Terrified? Destroyed? Sick? Horrified?” His expression changes and I see his tough stare become softer, heartbreaking.
I jump up and land on his lap, squeezing him against me as I cradle his head in my arms. He gives in and hugs me back, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying closer to me.
“I just wanted to feel normal for a few hours, go running, think some things over. I was going crazy here, Drew! Knowing that you were on the set with your hands all over someone else. I needed to get a piece of me back, the real me!” I wipe tears away, sitting back to look at Drew.
“There is no normal anymore Syd, especially with me. You know this. You’ve seen it. You’ve experienced it!” He puts me on the couch and gets up to pace in front of me. “I know you think I’m unreasonable and overbearing, Sydney.” He glares at me, cutting off my response. “It’s because I love you, Syd. I can’t love you and have you putting yourself in danger all of the time. I can’t go through what happened at the premiere again. I won’t do it.”
Drew stops over by the bar and puts his hands on it, facing away from me. His head hangs down, his shoulders stooped, he’s a man defeated.
I stifle a sob, and move to stand behind him. I can’t let him continue like this. I’m slowly destroying this beautiful, vibrant man. I ignore the pain in my gut that’s telling me not to do this. “You won’t have to. I’m going to London for two months to redesign the Warren Hotel nightclub there.”
That gets his attention. Drew whirls around to face me, nearly knocking me over. “What? You’re going to London?” His expression is blanketed with fear, his eyes frozen and his mouth open in surprise. He swallows several times before continuing. “You can’t go. I can’t keep you safe there.” He lifts his hands and places them on my arms.
“Drew,” I whisper, tears running down my face. “You won’t have to worry about me.”
Understanding creeps up on him. He drops my arms like he’s been electrocuted.
“You’re leaving me.”